Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and Socialism

While Sarah Palin has made many colorful, deceitful and some times amusing charges against Barack Obama during this election year, the latest charge that he is a socialist for wanting to redistribute the wealth is beyond ridiculous, and more than a little ironic.

This recent charge of socialism stems from Obama’s statement to false plumber Joe W that he wants to spread the wealth through the restructuring of tax laws. Now any person who has read a newspaper, a web site or watched a cable news show, knows that Obama wants to “redistribute” wealth by restructuring tax laws to give a tax break to any person making less than $250k per year. This tax program to assuage the financial burden of the middle class, which was heightened under the Bush administration, equates to socialism in the McCain/Palin political dictionary.

The irony inherent to this charge of socialism stems from Sarah Palin’s own state of residence.Alaska is the most socialist state in the Union, a place where Sarah Palin said, according to Hendrik Hertzberg at the New Yorker, “we’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.”

You see Alaska doesn’t have sales or income tax and instead imposes large levees against the Oil companies that drill the state’s fields. It is the job of the Governor to distribute the money from those levees to each Alaskan citizen equally. “One of the reasons Palin has been a popular governor” according to Hertzberg, “is that she added an extra twelve hundred dollars to this year’s check, bringing the per-person total to $3,269.”

Palin insists calling Obama a socialist does not suggest he is un-American; and she defends her claim by telling ABC News’ Good Morning America, “There is nothing wrong, though, with calling someone out on their record, their associations. The association issue here, it’s not mean spirited, it’s not negative campaigning. It’s important and fair to the electorate.”Another affirmation that I don’t want Ms. Palin deciding what is fair for me.

Much like other claims made by the McCain/Palin campaign against Obama, this claim of socialism rings hollow when looked at under the cool clear light of truth. Obama’s tax plan is no more socialism that the existing US progressive tax plan, the social security fund or other monetary funds used to fund federal social service programs.Sarah Palin calling Obama a socialist smacks of classic hypocrisy and the plain ignorance we have come to expect from the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate.